Mas Gabinele Faugeres, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：4094

Spice, red fruit, mint and blueberry nose. Attractive, rich and quite expressive, rounded fruit, poised tannins and juiciness. Soft and confected style. Alc: 14.5%.

A blend of 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 20% Carignan and 10% Mourvedre aged in French oak for 12 months, this wine exhibits great depth of flavors against a tight structure. Notes of garrigue herbs and peppery spice infuse the blackberry and rich plum fruit core. Sweet oak flavors linger on the long finish along with firm but fine tannins. Drink now–2016.——L.B.(12/31/2011)—— 90

Another Languedoc talent new to me, Thierry Rodriguez’s 2008 vintage old vines Cinsault veered just a bit too far into the herbaceous hemisphere of that variety to win my recommendation for its price, but his 2006 Faugeres – a barrique-aged blend of (in decreasing order) Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, and Mourvedre – delivers a concentration of black fruits, bitter herbal concentrate, roasted meats, and above all pencil lead- and stone-licking mineral suggestions that are very typical to this schist-ridden appellation. My reservations about this wine concern its somewhat hard, glassy mouth-feel and a relative austerity engendered by a combination of bitter and stony elements. Although a taste of barrel is not imparted per se, I wonder whether a bit less wood might have permitted the fruit more freedom of expression. This seems concentrated and structured enough to stand serious cellaring, but I am suspicious of a better outcome and would drink it over the coming 12-18 months. Importer: Bourgeois Family Selections, Swannanoa, NC; tel. (704) 837 2441

This domaine, new to me, crafted a roasted, rich, new-oak tinged 2003 Faugeres (from Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache) full of raw meat, pencil lead minerality, and black fruits. Perhaps a bit opaque for its own good and displaying a slight toughness of tannin typical to the vintage, it is still impressively dense and a sign of serious grower intent.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

From tiny yields of 18 hectoliters per hectare, this blend of equal parts Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre reveals impeccable balance, an elegant, delicate style for the region, and delicious raspberry and currant flavors infused with earth and smoke. Drink it over the next 4-5 years. ERIC SOLOMON, EUROPEAN CELLARS, 236 West 27 St., Room 801, New York, NY 10001; tel. (212) 924-4949; fax (212) 924-0567